


Borealis

by garciasfluffypen



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/F, includes an original case and original character, mom!jj, the sequel to aurora!!! weee!!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:08:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29806824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/garciasfluffypen/pseuds/garciasfluffypen
Summary: "I'm scared." I admitted, my voice turning quiet. "I don't know how to be a mom.""I'll be here every step of the way. I promise." JJ tilted my chin so I was looking at her. "You are nothing like your mother. You are strong, independent, smart and witty. You have everything in you to be a better mother than yours was.""You think so?""I know so."or, the one where y/n finds herself with a child.WARNINGS: SMUT, DESCRIPTIONS OF CRIME SCENES, MURDER.I do not own the Characters of Criminal Minds- they belong to their respective writers/creators!inspired by what maisy knew by bonniegreyfics on wp
Relationships: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau & Reader, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	1. They Never Get Easier

_ “Guys,” Hotch called for us from outside of his office. “We got a bad one. We’ll brief on the plane. Wheels up in ten.”  _

When Hotch told us we had a bad case, I knew to expect it was going to have kids in it. Usually, kid cases were the worst, considering we had roughly 24 hours before it became critical to find them. The last time I worked a case with kids, we almost lost one of them and I felt absolutely horrible standing there being able to do nothing as the small girl coded in the ambulance. I didn’t want to think about it then, and I didn’t want to think about it now. With Henry becoming my “Honorary Son” as JJ liked to call it, kid cases had been hitting differently. After taking care of a child, you see the world differently- and yes, I’m aware I’m going to get slack for that but believe me when I say that becoming a mother figure in someone’s life changes you. 

JJ tapped on my wrist as the team all got up from their desks, signaling to me that we were getting ready to go. I grabbed my gobag from where I had shoved it under my desk and sped walked to catch up with the team, squeezing myself into the elevator with everyone else. JJ and I were shoved in a corner, and I felt her hand on the small of my back, right by my tailbone. I locked eyes with her, knowing that both of us would be struggling on this case whether we liked it or not. We hopped into the car with Spencer and Emily, all of us anxiously waiting to hear the case that Hotch was going to give us when we got to the jet. Considering we hadn’t gotten many children based cases recently, I had a feeling this was going to be rough not just for JJ and I, but for all of us. 

By the time we got to the airstrip I was a giant bundle of nerves. I hated these types of cases, and would honestly prefer to just turn around and go home. But I knew I had to go help, even if I didn’t want to. We all piled onto the jet and waited for takeoff before Hotch started the briefing. 

“William Marsh, Esme Daniels and Bailey Mann were reported missing from their kindergarten playground in Allen Park, Michigan shortly after 11am. Their teacher was not on duty, but another was. Authorities already talked to her, but she’s willing to cooperate with us. This is what we know so far about each child.” 

I looked down to my tablet and bit my lip, reading through each file on the kids. All of them were academically smart, and it reflected in their schooling. So what would have made it so they let their judgement down and left with a kidnapper? 

“Uniforms have talked to school officials, who stated that there’s been a male and female duo watching the kids during recess. Nobody has been able to identify them, and they are able to evade security cameras. One person has an idea of what they believe their car looks like, but nobody knows for sure.” 

“This doesn’t make sense, Hotch.” Morgan looked up from his tablet. “All these kids were smart. Why did they just leave?” 

“Something tells me this is premeditated.” I spoke up. “If what people are saying is true, the unsubs have been watching the school for days, maybe even weeks. They were trying to find just the right kids to snatch.” 

“That’s true, and that’s the theory we’re working off of. Emily, Y/N, you’ll be working point at the school. Talk to the staff, look at cameras, see if you’re able to find anything that can help point us in the right direction.” I nodded. “JJ, I want you talking to the parents. See if you can get any more information on the kids. Everyone else will be with me working on the profile in the office.” 

I slipped my hand into JJ’s and gave it a squeeze, shooting her a supportive smile. I could practically feel the fear running through her veins- and I wasn’t going to lie, fear was running through mine as well. All I could think about was if it was Henry in that situation. I loved Henry like he was my own, and I would absolutely hate myself if I let anything happen to him. 

I looked back down to my tablet, biting my lip. This was going to be a hard one. 

\---

Emily and I separated from the team soon as we landed, taking one of the SUVs and going straight to the school. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but I knew it probably wasn’t going to be pretty. 

“You okay over there, Y/N?” Emily looked at me as we stopped at a red light. “You’re quiet.”

“Yeah, long night.” Emily smirked. “Oh shut up.” 

“I’m taking it you guys did a lot of… unpacking?” 

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not telling you about our sex life.” 

“Oh come on, Y/N, I’m your  _ best friend _ .”

“And it’s called a  _ private life _ for a reason.” I lightly punched Emily in the arm. “That would be like me asking you about you and that mystery girl you kept hinting at during girls night last week.” 

“I- ah, you’re right.” Emily playfully sighed.

“But to answer your question, yes we did unpack. Most of my boxes are empty and my plants are happily thriving in her living room.” 

We kept up a nice light chit-chat as we drove towards the school, trying to keep our minds off of the nature of the case. Everything about it was interesting. These kids were academically smart, which means that they had some sort of general knowledge about stranger danger. Hopefully. We pulled into the parking lot and Emily parked, both of us walking into the school and heading straight to the office. 

“Hi, can I help you?”

“Agents Prentiss and Y/L/N, FBI. We’re here to talk about the children?” 

“Ah yes, right this way.”

The secretary led us into a conference room, which held a table and some chairs. We thanked her and sat down, me setting up my tablet so I could take notes during the meeting. We only waited a few minutes before the principal came in, adjusting his suit jacket. I locked eyes with him as I shook his hand, and automatically got weird vibes. I forced myself to hold back my shudder, sitting down where I was originally sitting. 

“Can you tell us about the kids?”

“Ah yes. Two of them came from nice, structured families.” He paused. 

“And?” 

“And then there was Esme.” 

“What about Esme?” 

“She was what one might call… troubled. She is a foster child.” 

“That doesn’t automatically make her troubled.” I jumped to her defense. “There’s many factors that go into a child’s behavior-”

“Y/N.” Emily gave me a stern look. 

“Sorry. Continue.” 

“She doesn’t get along with a lot of people. This causes a lot of distractions in classes. Not only that, but Esme is on edge almost all the time and it affects her school work.” 

“How on edge is she?” I asked. 

“She barely talks to anyone and when she does, she snaps. A lot.” 

I bit my lip, knowing that if I said anything else I would blow his head off. I knew exactly how she felt. I spent most of my life with a missing parental unit, so I could empathize with all the feelings she most likely was feeling right now. That could potentially explain the need to leave with our unsubs. I wrote that down so I didn’t forget, tuning back into the conversation happening in front of me. 

“What about William and Bailey?” 

“They were perfect. Always listened to teachers, got good grades, no problems.”

“So the only problem in your opinion was Esme?”

“Yes. I’ll get you her file.” 

The principal stood up and walked out, leaving Emily and I in the room. I sat there for a second, trying to get everything straight in my head. There must have been a reason these kids left with them- Esme it was pretty easy to assume the reason she left, since she was in the foster system. She, much like myself, most likely felt as if nobody truly loved her, and that being with whoever she was with was her only way out. I was debating doing that myself when I was younger, but ultimately decided to stay because I loved my case worker. She helped me through the departure of my father, and the rebuilding of my relationship with my mother. Because of her, I found my family. Family was something Esme didn’t have. 

“Oh my God. I think I got it.”

  
  



	2. Why?

“What do you mean, you think you got it?”

I looked over to Emily. “Esme doesn’t have a family. That could be why she left.” 

“That could explain it.” Emily bit her thumb. “But that doesn’t explain William and Bailey.” 

“I’m gonna call Hotch, see what they have.” 

Emily nodded as I stepped off to the side, slipping in my AirPods and calling Hotch. 

“ _ Hotch. _ ”

“Hey, it’s Y/N.” 

“ _ You’re on speaker. _ ”

“So, I have a theory.” I pulled up the notes on my tablet. “Esme was in the foster system. Which means, she might not have that family aspect that kids want and need in their lives. She most likely is longing for the ideal family setting, which is why she could have willingly went with the unsubs.”

There was a moment of silence before Derek piped up. “ _ That could be a valid reason. I’ll call Garcia.”  _

_ “Is there anything else you’ve found out, Y/N? _ ”

“No. At least, nothing that would throw up red flags. According to the principal, William and Bailey are perfect students. Nothing wrong with them.”

“ _ JJ’s currently talking to the parents right now, hopefully she’ll find something. Talk to teachers and staff to see if you can find anything else that can help us.”  _

“Will do.”

I took out my airpods and set them back into their case, looking over at Emily. There was one thing that wasn’t sitting right with me- from the file, it seemed like Esme was a bright and bubbly girl who was just misunderstood. So why did everyone have a grudge against her? 

\---

Hotch called Emily and I back to the precinct about two hours later, after we had talked to their teachers. From what we heard, everyone raved about William and Bailey. Esme on the other hand, was a different story. She barely talked to anyone, according to what the Principal had told us, but she had attached herself to her resource room teacher and only interacted with her. She threw a lot of fits, and acted out a lot in classes. She only was somewhat okay in the resource room. Which would make sense, since she latched onto her. I bit the tip of my apple pencil in concentration as I looked over the files, but my mind kept going back to Esme. I couldn’t even begin to imagine being in her shoes, especially at her age. She had just turned four a few weeks ago. She was probably terrified right now. I was drawn to this girl, and I knew I had to do everything in my right mind to save her. No matter what it took. JJ came and sat down next to me, placing her hand on my arm as she tried to read me. All I could focus on was trying to find any little thing that could explain why she was different from William and Bailey. There was a difference in age- the two older ones were in second grade, while Esme was only in kindergarten. But that couldn’t be the only factor. There had to be a reason that Esme was taken. 

“Dove? Are you okay?” 

“I’ll be okay once we get these kids home.” 

“You’ve been staring at Esme’s file for twelve-”

“Spencer Walter Reid I will cut your hair off, don't test me.” I gave Spencer a pointed glare.

“But I love the Jesus haircut.” Emily jokingly pouted. 

“Not now, Emily.” 

“She’s four, babe. Four. The others are older, which deviates from the age group we had suspected. But Esme is… she’s still so young.” 

“We’re going to do our best to get her home, okay?”

“She doesn’t have a home, though. She’s a foster child.” I paused. “What’s going to happen to her?”

“I don’t know.” 

Before JJ and I could think any further, the doors to the precinct opened and Rossi walked in, the Principal and Hotch trailing behind him. I shared a look with Spencer, Emily and JJ, the four of us confused as all hell. What was he doing here? Hotch came over to us, seeing our confusion.

“Garcia found some stuff on his computer we need to talk to him about.”

“What was it?”

“A lot of inappropriate comments about the children.” Hotch paused. “Especially Esme.” 

“So he’s part of it.”

“We’re not sure yet. We think he might be, but Garcia’s still going through the computer.” 

I looked back over to the board, where we had everything we knew so far written. Everything pointed to what we believed to potentially be a child predator, but the age difference was what was getting me. Why was just Esme the youngest? Why not take three kids in the same age group? The principal knew that Esme was younger, so why did he not freak out about it? He was most definitely more worried about William and Bailey- which could be due to them being part of the Talented and Gifted program. The TAG kids were the top level at this school, and everyone looked up to them. It would make sense that they were the ones the school was more concerned about, but Esme was smart too. She wasn’t part of the TAG program since she was still in kindergarten, but everything that her teachers said about her led me to believe that she could be part of it if she worked hard enough. Which struck me as odd, because wouldn’t you want to encourage your kids to be themselves, and not hate them?

“Wait. He might have something to do with it. He said something to Emily and I, when we met with him this morning.” I looked through my notes, trying to find what he said. “He said something along the lines of that Esme caused more trouble than anyone in the school, uh… something else about teachers being annoyed by her as well.” 

“That wouldn’t explain a motive, though.”

“It doesn’t, but it can be used as leverage.” Emily piped in. “His demeanor changed a lot while talking about her. Everything pointed to him not liking Esme and leaning more towards William and Bailey.”

“What is it about foster kids that people don’t like?” I sank back into my chair, annoyed. “They’re regular children.” 

“That’s what we’re hoping to find out.”

Hotch walked away, and I waited til he was around the corner to lose my cool. I groaned into my fist, balling it up and punching at nothing. Spencer, Emily and JJ were looking at me, and I could tell they were worried about me. With a sigh, I got up and started walking to the door.

“I need some air.” 

I stopped by the car Emily and I had come here in earlier, leaning up against it and letting out a shaky breath. There were so many emotions and thoughts running through my mind and none of them were good. My heart ached for all the kids, and it was hitting me harder than I had thought it was going to. I could only imagine everything the kids were going through, and it hurt me to even think about anything that was happening except finding the kids and making sure they were okay. 

Rossi walked out after me, sensing that I was off. I looked at him, my thumb going to my lip and picking at it as he came over.

“Y/N?”

“Hey.” I shot him a small smile. 

“You ran out, I thought something had happened.” 

“I’m just… a lot’s happening.” 

“Such as?”

“I don’t know what it is, but I feel a pull towards Esme.” I started. “Something about her… the way everyone talks about her. It pisses me off. I can’t sit here and let people talk about her like that. She’s  _ four _ , Rossi. Four. All she knows right now is how people perceive her, which is probably why she’s acting out. She doesn’t know how to properly process her emotions because nobody ever taught her- this in turn is affecting her at school, making her hard to get along with mostly because she doesn’t know what to do with herself. They’re not taking the time to understand what she’s going through.” 

Rossi sighed. “Your emotions are overtaking you, Y/N.” 

“I know.” 

“You can’t let your emotions rule your thinking. Talk me through everything we know about the case. Just the facts.” 

“Okay.” I paused. “Esme Daniels, age four. Taken from her school’s playground roughly seven hours ago. Also taken was William Marsh, 8 and Bailey Mann, 9. They were most likely snatched by an unsub pair, a man and a woman. Teachers praise William and Bailey, while everyone turns a blind eye toward Esme.” 

Rossi nodded. “And they favor the older boys why?”

“Because they’re part of the Talented and Gifted program, or TAG. They’re in advanced classes, and are on the top tier of the school. Anyone would love to be in that program.” 

“So we have two out of three kids who are in the TAG Program.”

“But Esme is on track grade wise to meet the requirements for that program. She’s getting good grades and the only thing that’s stopping her is the behavioral issues everyone is talking about.” 

“So they all have smarts in common. What about the teachers?” 

“To my knowledge, they all have different teachers. Esme spends most of her time in the Resource Room, while William and Bailey are semi-independent in their classrooms.”

“Semi-Independent?”

“Yeah, they go to the Resource Room to take tests.” 

I was quiet for a moment as the gears started turning in my head. All three kids went to the Resource Room… oh  _ fuck _ .

“Rossi, I think they’re targeting kids who are in the Resource Room.” 

  
  



	3. Dicoveries

“Guys,” I ran back into the conference room, practically out of breath. “They’re targeting kids in the Resource Room.” 

“What do you mean?”

I explained my theory, going over how I figured out the connection. Everyone seemed to agree with me, and next thing I knew Hotch and Morgan were off to the school to talk to the Vice Principal to ensure that we could keep the Resource Room kids safe. Rossi and Emily went to interview the Principal, leaving Spencer, JJ and I in the conference room. We were tasked with sifting through the faculty and staff, seeing if any of them popped up with red flags. I had found none, and wasn’t even close to being a quarter of the way through my stack. Spencer had already gone through most of his, and was writing down notes furiously as he read through files. JJ and I shared a look, knowing that he’d probably find anything before we did. I went back to reading through my file, realizing something was off about this teacher. Sylvia Warson, 56. She had been teaching in the district for a while, but there was something on her record that had been redacted. I dialed Garcia’s number, putting her on speaker. 

“ _ Y/N I’m so glad you called. Anderson and I are in a heated debate. Do you think men wipe when they pee? _ ” 

“Pen I-” 

“ _ Do they? Yes or no, Y/N. This is vital to our friendship!”  _

“Um… no?” 

“ _ Okay you pass the vibe check. What’s up, mamas?”  _

“I need you to do something for me. I’m sending you a file for one Sylvia Warson. Something on it is redacted and I need your genius brain to get it un-redacted for me.” 

“ _ You’ve contacted the right liar of genius. Give me a few seconds and I should- oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear _ .” 

JJ leaned forward in her chair, looking at my phone. “Garcia?” 

“ _ She’s not a good person. According to this, she was fired from her last teaching job for supposedly making comments about some of the less academically advanced children and constantly talking down to them, berating them, etcetera. She’s also been known to pay special attention to certain kids… who have come forward with complaints about her. _ ” 

“No wonder she had that redacted. Can you send that to me, love?” 

“ _ It’s already in Cyber Space on it's way to you, sweetcheeks.”  _

“Thank you darling, you’re the best!”

Garcia hung up soon as the newly un-redacted file came through, and I read everything that had happened with her. From berating children to purposely marking them down, she did pretty much every no-no you could think of in the book. I compared that to everything else we had found out and started to put two and two together. I reached across the table to grab the files of all the kids in the Resource Room, going over everything. There had to be a connection we were missing. My tongue poked out from between my lips as I continued to go over everything, going back over my notes and then over Sylvia’s file again and over some more information that Garcia had sent me. I suddenly put two and two together, knowing I needed to confront the principal before it was too late. I sped walked over to the interrogation room, JJ and Spencer hot on my heels. I burst into the room, practically seeing red. 

“So, you’re into pedophilia, huh?” I slapped the file down in front of him, staring him down. “You hired a teacher who was openly involved in a pedophilic sex cult.” 

“I’m sorry, you-”

“Shouldn’t have had access to that? I'm an FBI agent buddy. Nice try. I looked into you. Not only was Sylvia apart of said sex cult, you were too for a time. The only reason they let you out was if you gave them access to your school yard. You know exactly who’s taking those kids.” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes you do!” I hit the table, causing everyone around me to flinch. “You know exactly what you did by letting Sylvia into your school and you were able to redact that information so the school district didn’t know they were working with two pedophilles. You’re going to tell me everything you know, and now. I’ll give you five seconds to start talking. Five.”

“This is-”

“Four. Three.” 

“You’re out of line.”

“Four.” 

“Make her stop.”

“Five.” I stood up, grabbing my handcuffs. “Ron Smith you are under arrest for the sexual exploitation of children, selling and buying of children-” 

“Okay fine, I’ll talk! I’ll talk. Just… put the handcuffs away.” 

I smirked, grabbing the extra seat that was sitting in the corner of the room, pulling it over to the table and straddling it. 

“Okay, talk.” 

\---

“How’d you find that out?”

We were all in the tactical gear room, getting ready to raid Sylvia’s house. Ron had told us everything, including the next batch of kids they were planning on taking. Hotch and Morgan were able to get them to safety, telling us they’d meet the rest of us at her house. I tightened my FBI vest, making sure it was adjusted correctly before turning to Emily. 

“It was simple. When Garcia went over that redacted file, a couple of trigger words that anyone would see as a red flag popped up, including her performance reports and everything else about her. I crossed those with the reports from the Principal, and then looked into district reports and realized they said the same things. They paid special attention to those they liked, and planned out everything on a separate number. The only reason one of them slipped up was because Ron forgot to code one of his messages on his school phone.” 

Emily raised her eyebrow. “You got all of that from a performance report?” 

“And Garcia getting me their text records, yeah.” 

I threw my hair up into a ponytail, putting in the ear piece and re-holstering my gun. We all made our way to the vans and climbed in, JJ getting in the driver's seat with everyone else filing in after us. It took about half an hour to get to Sylvia’s house, and we got there the same time as Hotch and Morgan did. We all met outside their car, going over our game plan.

“Kids are most likely to trust women,” Hotch started. “so I want you three to go in first. We’re going to do a quiet breech, so we don’t scare anyone in the house. Soon as you find the kids, I want you to get them out of there. Got it?”

I nodded. “Yes sir.” 

We made our way up to the house, guns at the ready. One of the SWAT members used a lock pick and unlocked the door, slowly pushing it open. I was the first one through, swinging my gun around as I was clearing the room. I moved to the right side of the house, while JJ took the left and Emily took the back. The first floor came back clear, and Emily made her way upstairs while JJ and I looked around down here. We didn’t find anything, so we went to meet Emily upstairs. I found Emily in a room that was full of pictures of the kids, and plenty of others they were planning on taking. Emily said something into her comms as I left the room, making my way back downstairs and looking around again. I saw a door, and I whisper yelled for JJ, waiting for her to meet me before I started going down the stairs.

Soon as we reached the basement level, I was met with the smell of shit, piss and so many other things I couldn’t place. I covered my mouth as I coughed, my other hand still holding out my gun. I heard some whimpers and looked to my right, seeing a group of at least ten kids huddled in the corner. They were all in various states of not-okay, and it broke my heart. 

“Hi guys,” I started, my voice turning soft. “My name is Y/N, I’m the police. I’m here to help you, okay?” 

They all nodded, slowly getting up and making their way towards JJ and Emily, who had come downstairs to help us. There was one little girl in the corner who caught my eye, one who hadn’t stood up yet. 

It was Esme.

  
  



	4. Esme

Esme locked eyes with me, and I could tell there were so many thoughts going through her tiny little mind. She looked absolutely terrified, and it broke my heart. 

“Hi, are you Esme?” she nodded. “I’m Y/N, can you come with me?” 

I walked over to her and held out my hand, which she hesitantly took. When she was sure I wasn’t going to hurt her, she clung onto me for dear life as I made my way upstairs, following the kids. I got back outside and let out a big breath, thankful I could breathe clear air again. I looked to Esme, who was crying silently. I could see the bruises forming all over her body, and I lightly pushed some hair out of her face as I got a better look at her. She relaxed in my arms, and put her head on my shoulder as she started sucking her thumb. Hotch told me to get the kids to the ambulances, so I helped corral them over while Esme stayed in my arms. When all the kids were with EMTs, I looked down to Esme. She looked absolutely tired, worn down, and like she didn’t want to be there at all. 

“Esme,” I rubbed her back with my free hand, waiting for her to pick her head up. “Can these nice people check you for any boo-boos?”

Esme shook her head and started crying again, her little arms wrapping around my neck and squeezing as tight as they possibly could muster. I shot a look to the EMT who had come over, letting them know that I’d take her to the hospital myself. I bounced her up and down as she went through her fit, moving away from all the over-stimulating experiences and finding a quiet spot in a corner by the police tape. I locked eyes with JJ from across the scene, knowing she was thinking exactly what I was. She went to Hotch, and before I knew it the two of us were making our way to the nearest hospital, following the ambulances full of children. I fought back tears as I looked down to a sleeping Esme in my arms, realizing she had probably tired herself out from the events of what had happened. 

This was going to be a doozy.

“Y/N,” JJ came over to me. “Hotch is having us accompany the kids to the hospital. Are you gonna ride in an ambulance or do you want to ride with me?”

“If I could ride with you, that’d be better. She’s absolutely terrified.” 

JJ nodded in understanding. “Come on, Dove. Lets go.” 

  
  


The two of us quietly talked during the ride, JJ meeting up with the kids and their families soon as we got out of the car. I was able to talk to the nurses at the nurses station, seeing if there was a way we could get Esme into a room now while the other kids were getting looked at. Esme woke herself up about an hour after we got to the hospital, just in time for us to be taken back to a room. JJ was talking to all the parents, so it was just me and Esme for the moment. 

“Hi, sleepy.” Esme blinked at me. “How are you?” 

Her lip quivered. “No good.” 

“Do you have any boo-boos?” she nodded. “Can you show me where they are? Or the doctor?” 

“No doctor! No doctor!” 

“Okay, okay, no doctor.” I ran my hand up and down her back again. “Can you show me?” 

A pause. “Okay.” 

“I’m gonna set you on this bed, okay? I’ll be right here the whole time.” 

I set Esme down on the examination table, holding her tiny little hands with mine. She let me look at her arms and legs, but didn’t want me to take off her shirt, which I respected. A doctor came in and she got scared again, digging her head into my FBI vest. 

“Esme, this is a really nice lady. She’s going to make sure your boo-boos are not bad and give you some things to help them heal, okay?” she nodded. “I’ll hold your hand the whole time.” 

“Otay.”

I sat with Esme through the examination, my heart clenching when it came time to check under her shirt. The Doctor pulled out a blue sheet and laid it over her as I helped gently push her back so she was laying down, brushing my fingers through her hair and whispering in her ear to keep her distracted. By the time the Doctor was done looking at her, she was fully crying and threw herself back into my arms. JJ finally came in with the sweater I had asked her for, and I wrapped Esme up in it while the Doctor went to go look at everything she had found. 

“Is she okay?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think she likes doctors.” I looked down to Esme, who was still sniffling. “How are all the other kids?”

“They’ll be okay. Parents are all with them.” 

“And the scene?”

“Sylvia fled, but they’re looking for her right now.” I nodded. “How are you? You went really hard on Ron back there.”

“I’m better now.” I sadly smiled. “I don’t know how I’m going to leave Esme, though.” 

“We’ll talk to Hotch, okay? I can see how attached she is to you.” 

“Thank you.” 

JJ and I talked for a few more minutes, and I couldn’t help but continue to think about what she said. Esme had attached herself to me, which was making me think she had some sort of attachment disorder. But I didn’t want to think about that now. She was currently sitting on the hospital bed, playing a game on my tablet while I did some work things on my phone, making sure to keep Hotch updated on the situation. Esme barely let me leave her side, and it was getting to the point where she had to be in my arms, next to me, or in my lap the whole time. My heart ached for her, and part of me wanted to keep her with me and take her back to DC. I could practically feel the Hotch stare as I thought more about it, and it took a lot of willpower not to text him then and there asking what the protocol was for adopting kids from a case you were involved with. I looked down to see Esme had fallen asleep again, and I let out a sigh. 

“Dove?” JJ looked at me. 

“Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts.” 

“Are you okay?” 

“I-I’m worried about Esme. She doesn’t want to leave my side. What’s going to happen when we have to go back to Quantico?” 

“I don’t know.” it was her turn to sigh. “I wish I knew what the protocol was.”

“Me too. It’s taking so much willpower not to text Hotch right now.” 

JJ chuckled. “I’m surprised you haven’t yet.” 

“Oh I want to. I so want to.” I paused. “But what will Henry think? I don’t want him to think I’m abandoning him or anything.” 

“I'm sure he’ll understand. But we don’t have to worry about that right now, okay?” JJ placed a kiss to my lips. “Focus on making sure she gets the treatment she needs.” 

“Okay.” 

JJ’s phone started vibrating. “It’s Hotch, I should take this.” She paused. “I love you, okay? Do what you think is right.” 

“I love you too.” I placed another quick kiss to her lips. “And I will. I promise.”


	5. Come Home with Me

The next couple of hours were pure hell. They had requested X-Rays, which were torturous. She threw a giant fit and they had to subdue her in order to get her away from me. I let myself cry at that, wishing that JJ was here to help me get through this. Hotch had called her back for the hunt for Sylvia, so it was just me sitting in the Pediatric ward, waiting for her to come back. I was able to take my gear off, setting it on the chair next to me as I went through some levels of Candy Crush, trying to calm down. She finally came back in about an hour later, and they pushed her bed back where it had been originally. The doctor had me come out into the hall, explaining everything to me. 

There were some fractures by the bruising, but nothing life altering. A bit of malnutrition but they had her on an IV to help fix that. She wasn’t assaulted at all, thank god, which was a good sign. We had gotten to them early enough that nothing drastic happened to any of the kids. I thanked the Doctor before going to sit back down next to Esme, grabbing my phone and calling Hotch.

“ _ Hotchner. _ ”

“It’s me. Esme’s doctor said there’s just some fracturing and bruising, as well as some malnutrition. Same with the other kids.” 

“ _ Good. No signs of assault? _ ”

“None of the kids showed any sign of assault.”

“ _ Okay. Do you think you’ll be able to get back to the station by tonight? _ ”

“I wanted to ask you about that, actually. Do you have a second?”

There was a moment of silence. “ _ She’s attached to you, isn’t she? _ ”

“Yes sir. More than I thought. If possible, I’d like to stay a few days to make sure everything gets settled. If that’s okay, I mean.” I paused.  "She's showing classic signs of  Reactive Attachment Disorder , Hotch. She's already under so much duress, I don't want to be the reason she snaps, you know?"

“ _ JJ already asked. You can have the next two weeks off, I’ll talk to JJ about her taking some time off as well. And Y/N?” _

“Yes sir?”

“ _ You’re going to make a great mom. _ ”

He hung up before I could say anything, and I could only stare at my phone, dumbstruck. Hotch thought I would make a good mother? Part of me wanted to believe that, but at the same time, I had a decent amount of mommy issues so I definitely did not believe him. I wanted to think I'd be a good mother, but I could barely take care of my plants. How could I take that step from being a plant mother to a real mother without messing up? Of course, I'd have JJ with me but I wouldn't want to put that burden on her. She already had Henry to think about. I couldn't throw another kid with what seemed to be severe attachment issues into the pile without asking her. I sighed. Maybe I'm just overthinking this whole situation. Although, she seemed to think I'd be good for Esme, which makes me hopeful, but at the same time it's such a big thing to ask. I wouldn't want to ruin our relationship because of this. 

I finally snapped out of it as Esme started to stir, rubbing her eyes. 

“Hey Esme.” I adjusted so she could see me, pulling the chair as close to the bed as I could. “You did so good, angel.” 

“No doctor?”

“Not right now.” I grabbed her hand. “They’re looking at the pictures they took of you, to make sure you can come back home with me.” 

“With you?” her head tilted to the side. 

“Yes. If that’s okay with you.” 

She thought for a second. “Otay.” 

She was discharged about two hours later, and I made sure to wrap her up nice and tight in the sweater I had JJ bring me as we walked downstairs, meeting JJ in the car that Hotch was letting us use. She had stopped at a local Target while I was out, and bought a simple sweatshirt, some leggings and undergarments for Esme as well as a pair of jammies. We were planning on talking to her caseworker in the morning so we could figure out our options. Both of us couldn’t leave her here. There was no way we could leave without her. She was way too attached to me, first off, and secondly I wasn’t about to let her go back into the system. I sat in the back with Esme, sitting her on my lap as we rode back to the hotel, telling her about where we were staying. 

We got back to the hotel and got out of the car, grabbing our go-bags and taking her upstairs. I set her down in the room, leaving her to explore around as I grabbed my own pajamas from my gobag, slipping into the bathroom to change. Instead of showering, I ran a wet washcloth across my face and private areas, making sure to wipe off any sweat before changing and going back out, finding Esme sitting on one of the beds with JJ. 

“You do?”

“I do.” JJ smiled. “I love cookies, ice cream,  _ and _ brownies.” 

“That’s cool. I like those too.” 

“What about you, darling, do you like treats?” 

“I do.” I smiled, pulling my brush through my hair. “I love all of those.”

“Esme was asking because she has a question for you, right?” 

She nodded. “While Ms. JJ is shower, can we get treats?” 

“Of course we can!” I walked over to her, sitting down next to her. “Let me know what you want and we can get it, okay?” 

“Anything?”

“Anything.” 

“Can we get it all?” 

I laughed. “One thing tonight, okay?” 

“Okay.” she paused. “Can we have ice cream?”

“Ice cream it is.”

We put on a Disney movie after we ordered room service, the three of us snuggling on Esme’s bed, since it was closer to the TV. Esme asked us to watch  _ Ratatouille _ , which caused me to laugh. Henry had recently gone through a  _ Ratatouille  _ phase, and I could just tell that JJ was going to be annoyed with having to watch the movie again. Thankfully, she sucked it up and watched it, curling up against my side and watching her phone just in case she got called back in. Even though we were technically off the clock, we were still considered to be working the case so either of us could have been called back. Esme sat on my lap the whole time, not entirely trusting JJ yet. Both of us knew that it would take time, since she hadn’t fully opened up to us yet. 

After she finished her ice cream, we got her ready for bed and tucked her in, both JJ and I sneaking into the bathroom and getting ready ourselves. I didn’t shower, mostly because I wanted to make sure Esme was going to be okay- this was her first night outside of a foster home. I didn’t know what happened to her before she was with us, and it was… nerve wracking, to say the least. JJ wrapped her arms around me as we both crawled into bed, curling up against each other and slowly drifting off to sleep. 

  
  



	6. Pancakes on a Sunday Morning

I woke up bright and early the next morning so I could go sneak out and get us all some iHop. Thankfully, I had told JJ about it so she wouldn’t be surprised to find me gone in the morning. I decided to get just some regular pancakes, and toppings on the side because I knew JJ loved the strawberries. More than she loved me, probably. I made it back to the hotel room about an hour later, pancakes in my hand. I walked through the door, making sure it shut quietly behind me and walked further into the room, smiling at JJ as she was sitting on the bed we had claimed scrolling through her phone. 

“Mm, smells good.” I set everything down and walked over to the bed, draping myself over her lap. “I hope you got the strawberries.”

“Anything for you, darling.” I placed a kiss on her lips, holding it for a few seconds. “Although, I do fear someday you’re going to leave me for food.”

“There’s just something about the iHop strawberries.” she chuckled. “But believe me when I say I am madly in love with you, Y/N. I won’t be leaving any time soon. I promise.” 

“I’m holding you to that.” 

I placed another kiss on her lips and moved so we could cuddle some more, tangling our legs together as we both scrolled through our phones. I noticed I had a multitude of texts from Garcia, and filled her in on everything that had happened over the past couple of days . Around 8:30 I heard Esme start stirring, most likely smelling the pancakes. 

“Ms. JJ? Y/N?”

“We’re here, Esme.” she opened her eyes, seeing us on the bed and instantly relaxing. “Are you hungry? I got breakfast.” 

“What did you get?”

“I got pancakes.” 

Esme automatically sat up, her eyes filling with a brightness I hadn’t seen since the moment we met her. I pulled out the desk chair for her, setting out the pancakes on the desk as she ran over, climbing into the chair and looking at me with pleading eyes. 

“Can I have them?”

“Of course, sweet. They’re for you.” 

“All for me?”

“All for you.” 

Esme’s smile got bigger than I had seen it as she grabbed the fork, sticking it in and starting to eat. I took JJ’s pancakes over to her, sitting back down on the bed next to her as we watched her closely. She was talkative- a lot more so than we had originally thought. It was a stark difference from what everyone at her school was talking about, and it blew my mind that they could think anything bad about this girl. It was most likely because she had attached herself to me and JJ, which would make sense. She felt comfortable around us, which meant she felt she could be her normal self. But that still didn’t explain the outbursts at school. 

“Y/N? Can I have another?” 

“You already ate all your pancakes?” I chuckled, getting up. “Lucky for you, I also got some hash browns.”

“What are hash browns?” 

“They’re potatoes, but in a rectangle form.” I showed it to her. “Do you want to try?” 

She scarfed all the hash browns down, smiling at me triumphantly as she finished. I helped her back into the clothes we got her yesterday, explaining what was going to happen today. She nodded in understanding, knowing that the talk we were going to have with her case worker was super important. I had Garcia send over all of JJ and I’s files last night so we could get started on any necessary paperwork, hoping to take Esme back to DC with us within the next few days. 

Esme and I walked around the garden outside the hotel for a bit, letting her explore everything she came into contact with. JJ texted me when the case worker got there, and we made our way back upstairs, and I could tell Esme was getting nervous again. I picked her up before we got into the elevator, a calming hand running up and down her back as we got to our floor and walked closer to our room. The caseworker, Sid, had just gotten there and was introducing themselves to JJ. We got to talking after JJ introduced me, and Sid took us over everything we would need to file proper paperwork so we could foster Esme. Thankfully, Garcia had sent us everything we needed so we were able to fill it all out that day. We thanked Sid as they left, noticing that Esme had fallen asleep while watching youtube on her bed. I wrapped JJ up in my arms, placing my hands down on her ass. 

“If you can stay quiet, I’ll give you a quickie in the bathroom.” 

JJ’s pupils grew darker as she pulled me into the bathroom, catching my lips in a kiss. I lifted her up so she was sitting on the counter, her head falling back as I started to leave kisses across her neck. I didn’t waste any time as I slipped my hands under her shirt, leaving light scratch marks down her skin as I pulled at her pants, dropping them around her ankles. She shifted so I could reach her better, pushing my head back down to where she needed me. I got to work, smirking as I saw how wet she was for me already. Her hands fisted in my hair as she got closer, back arching as I inserted a finger. I pulled back up so I could kiss her while she came, muffling the ever so tiny moans that were falling from her as she clenched around me. I continued pumping in and out of her as she lightly bit on my shoulder, her fingers curling into my back as I slipped another finger in. I placed some more light kisses on the nape of her neck, brushing her clit with my thumb and watching her jolt at my touch. I stopped moving my fingers, giving her a devious look. 

“If you don’t let me cum right now-” 

“What will you do, Jennifer?” 

JJ grabbed my neck and squeezed lightly, causing my legs to turn to jello. We stared at each other for a few seconds before I started pumping again, her hand still around my neck as she came. Before I could give her some time to get on the ground her hand was down my pants, fingers finding my opening right away and slipping two in. I wrapped my arms around JJ as I fell forward, my body feeling so many things that I wasn’t used to feeling. It took all of my power not to let out a moan, and I had to bite down on my hand as she continued to pump in and out of me. Her fingers curled in just the right way and I felt my release, but that didn’t stop her. She kept going, sucking on the skin of my shoulder as she started toying with my clit, feelings of pleasure rushing through my body. I felt myself getting closer and closer and her free hand went back to my neck again, forcing me to look at her. 

“Cum for me, darling.” 

With that I let go, holding onto her tight as my body shook. She slowly removed her fingers as I came down, and I whined from the loss of contact. She licked off her fingers before reaching behind her to grab a washcloth, wetting it before wiping me down. I did the same to her, placing soft kisses to her in between. It had been a hot second since we could be intimate together, and even if it was only a quickie with all our clothes still on I was glad it could happen. I helped JJ off of the counter, wrapping my arms around her and placing one last kiss on her lips before we had to go back out and pretend that nothing had happened in this bathroom. I threw the washcloth with the dirty towels, smiling over at JJ. 

That’s when I heard the crying. 

  
  



End file.
